The New York Times recently took issue with Rex Tillerson, the President-elect’s nominee for Secretary of State, and the current CEO of ExxonMobil. Why? “Tillerson Put Company’s Needs Over U.S. Interests,” accused the front page headline. The article details how the company puts shareholders’ interests before the interests of the United States and of impoverished citizens of countries... Continue Reading

Morris Nichols attorneys Rick Alexander, Eric Klinger-Wilensky and Melissa DiVincenzo published three guides on Delaware public benefit corporations for Practical Law Corporate & Securities. Their Delaware Public Benefit Corporation Practice Note provides an overview of public benefit corporations organized in Delaware. It highlights the special provisions that apply to this type of... Continue Reading

In 2010, Maryland became the first state in the United States to adopt a benefit corporation statute, and since then 31 U.S. jurisdictions (along with Italy) have followed suit. In 2013, Delaware, the leading jurisdiction for incorporating in the United States, adopted its own version, authorizing “public benefit corporations.” In this short time frame, more than 3,600 companies have been... Continue Reading

A new form of corporate governance — the benefit corporation model — has been adopted in 31 U.S. jurisdictions, including Delaware, and on the international scene. Benefit corporation statutes allow corporations to opt into a governance model that requires directors to balance the interests of all stakeholders — stockholders, employees, customers, and the public — when making decisions.... Continue Reading

In recent weeks, benefit corporations have been in the news. First KickStarter, a well-known funding platform for creative projects, announced that it had amended its charter to become a benefit corporation. Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever announced he was going to work toward bringing Certified B Corporations (which must adopt the benefit corporation structure or its equivalent) to multinationals... Continue Reading